General Motors' Train of Tomorrow
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The Train Of Tomorrow
By Ric Morgan
Pages 54-65
The Train Of Tomorrow was for sale from the time it was built. Originally, the train was expected to be on tour for about six months and then be sold to a Class 1 railroad. The feeling was that the cars should go together. It was not essential that the four cars be placed on the same train, but it was felt that this would be best.
One statement in a packet of information called the "Train Of Tomorrow disposal program" said, "It is felt that the project [has] accomplished its purpose. It is, therefore, recommended that the train program be terminated following the close of the [Chicago] Railroad Fair." However, the recommendation was not followed, as the train went on tour in Canada before being refurbished and placed in storage at EMD's 103rd Street plant.
On October 17,1949, Cyrus Osborn received an interoffice letter about the idea of donating the amount in excess of the asked selling price to a national charity. The sale was planned this way: All Class 1 railroads that were interested in purchasing the train would submit bids based on an asking price of $950,000 for the locomotive and four dome cars, plus all equipment and spare parts. The highest bidder would take possession of the train. In the event two or more bidders offered the asking price or higher, the one with the highest bid over the asking price would get the train and the amount over the asking price would go to charity. When the idea was bandied about, everyone thought the idea was a novel one and the railroad would certainly get some great publicity. But there were problems. Someone pointed out that, according to Interstate Commerce Commission accounting practices, the excess amount could not be charged as an operating expense. Also, there was a feeling that the directors of some of the railroads or holding companies could not vote for the use of stockholders' money for charitable purposes without the consent of a majority of the stockholders and that would be a very difficult task. However, there was some indication that this would not be a problem at all railroads, and if it was seen that there was a problem, the company wouldn't bid or the obstacle would have been cleared before a bid was placed.
On October 21, Osborn sent a three-page letter offering the Train Of Tomorrow for sale to the presidents of 29 railroads.
As with anything like this, there were some problems with the sale. In itself, the train did not have enough cars to make it profitable to run on its own, and most of the railroads stated they didn't have a run they could put it on exclusively. If the train was used on overnight service, an identical train would be needed for operation in the opposite direction, and the Train Of Tomorrow was considered a unique piece of equipment. It would also take a long time to build the second train, and most railroads did not want to wait very long once the purchase had been approved. Another problem was that many railroads simply didn't have the money. Most of them had made huge capital investments after World War II to purchase new equipment to update their rundown fleets. In addition, passenger traffic was beginning to drop. Quite a few people had discovered the convenience and speed of air travel. The airlines were also increasing the size of their fleets to handle the demand, and new airports were being built to accommodate the increase in air passenger traffic.
While the Train Of Tomorrow was never considered a "white elephant," it was probably more difficult to sell than was originally expected. No records were found stating how many bids had been placed, but Osborn's letter had stated that all bids should be in the hands of EMD by December 1, 1949. However, it wasn't until the spring of 1950 that the train was sold.
In a memorandum dated March 18, 1950, Union Pacific president A. E. Stoddard recommended approval of the purchase of the Train Of Tomorrow to UP's Executive Committee. The memo stated that Union Pacific could purchase the whole train, including the locomotive, for $500,000 and that an additional $100,000 should be approved for freight charges, refurbishing, and any other miscellaneous costs related to the purchase of the train. Stoddard based his recommendation on the need to upgrade the equipment for passenger service between Portland and Seattle, where the railroad had received a number of complaints. The memo stated that EMD had received numerous bids but was willing to sell the train intact for $500,000. What that probably means is that either all the bids were lower or the other bidders were after individual pieces of the equipment and EMD decided not to sell cars individually. On March 21, the UP Executive Committee approved the purchase of the Train Of Tomorrow.
On April 6, 1950, the Union Pacific Railroad issued a "work order authority," which is a listing of estimated expenditures, for the Train Of Tomorrow. The $600,000 total allocated for the purchase of the train was allocated as follows:
| Locomotive | $57,282.91 |
| Astra Dome chair car | 99,996.67 |
| Astra Dome all-electric dining car | 114,993.30 |
| Astra Dome sleeping car with three compartments, two drawing rooms, and eight roomettes | 114,206.84 |
| Astra Dome observation car | 113,520.28 |
| $500,000.00 | |
| Freight | 2,000.00 |
| Power equipment | 10,200.00 |
| Repairing train; removal of carpet; alterations in electrical controls on power units; train electrical equipment and electro-pneumatic brake; and miscellaneous expenses, including contingencies | 87,800.00 |
| $600,000.00 |
After the train was delivered in April, Union Pacific painted its exterior in the yellow, red, and gray of the railroad's livery, replaced the carpet, and refurbished the whole interior. A large taillight was added to the roof of the observation car Moon Glow. In May 1950 the train went on a tour of the UP system, concentrating on the Northwest, where the cars would be placed in pool service with cars from the Northern Pacific and Great Northern between Seattle and Portland. There was a lot of speculation in the press as to what the Union Pacific would do with the individual cars or the complete train. However, right from the start, officials with the railroad had decided to use the train in Seattle-Portland service. Following the tour, the train served as a second section on the City of Los Angeles.
At 8:00 AM on June 18, the four cars, with other streamliner cars of Train 457, headed north over the Pacific Coast Route of the Northern Pacific Railroad to Seattle, arriving at 1:05 PM. After nearly four hours of layover, during which a passenger could conduct business or explore, Train 458 departed Seattle at 5:00 pm, arriving back in Portland at 9:30 pm. The consist of the train in both directions was usually three E7 locomotives, a mail-baggage car, five or six 44-passenger day coaches, a regular parlor car, a through sleeper from the City of Portland, and the four dome cars from the Train Of Tomorrow. One journalist remarked, "The tourist trade gets a magnificent daily view of Mt. Hood, the Columbia River, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains and Puget Sound, and a thrilling streamliner ride as well." By August 13, the schedule had been shortened so that the train was able to make the 182-mile trip in 3 hours and 59 minutes. Adjustments in times and schedules were made over the years.
The round-trip coach fare for the trip in 1950 was $6.84, tax included. For a seat in the dome of Star Dust, the fare was $9.49. To get a reserved seat in the parlor car or a reserved day seat in Dream Cloud, the sleeper, was $15.65, which included the use of Moon Glow. The dome diner Sky View was open to all passengers. One magazine article at the time noted that the parlor car fare was $2.64 cheaper than a round-trip flight on a DC-6 between the two cities.
In March 1956, all the cars were renumbered except for Dream Cloud, which continued in service with its name intact. Star Dust was renumbered 7010, and the dining car Sky View became 8010. However, being renumbered 9015 was not all that had happened to the Moon Glow. In December 1958, the car was reclassified from a dome observation car to a dome lounge car. In 1959, the rounded rear end was cut off, and the end was squared so the car could be used in midtrain service. As a lounge for parlor car passengers, Moon Glow was not getting a lot of use. Railroads have frequently put a lounge car next to the diner, as a place for dining car customers to wait, and that was the purpose of making the change on Moon Glow.
Occasionally the cars were used on special moves, not only on the UP but on neighboring railroads as well. Documents show the Moon Glow, the lounge car, being used on a special called Advance 104, from Los Angeles to Chicago, via Omaha.
Having been removed from regular service on March 20, 1962, Dream Cloud was put back into service on the Portland-Seattle trains during the World's Fair in Seattle. The car last saw service on October 1, 1962.
Dining Car 8010, formerly the Sky View, was the first to be retired in February 1961 with a depreciated salvage value of only $225. Dream Cloud was retired in February 1964 with an appraised salvage value of $2,624. The chair car Star Dust was valued at $3,390 when it was vacated in November 1964. Moon Glow was the last to be vacated in March 1965, with an appraised value of $2,254. All the cars were eventually sold for scrap to McCarty's Scrap Yard in Pocatello, Idaho.
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